Stephen Ferrin

Projecting corn

<p>
 <a href="http://www.elkhornslough.org/" target="_blank">
  Elkhorn Slough
 </a>
 is a really special place.  Our Marine Ecology class (CSU-Monterey Bay) went exploring in
 <a alt="data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/data%3D%213m2%211e3%214b1%214m2%213m1%211s0x0%3A0x0" target="_blank">
  the slough
 </a>
 and found some amazing critters!
</p>
<p>
 <a alt="Capture.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/Capture.jpg">
  <img alt="Capture" class="alignnone wp-image-15695 size-full gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15695" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"Stephen Ferrin","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462479480","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Capture" data-recalc-dims="1" height="449" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/Capture.jpg" width="402"/>
 </a>
</p>
<p>
 About five miles upstream from the ocean, a railroad track cuts through the slough, trapping a section of the mudflat behind it.  Two bridges allow the area to fill with water during high tide, and empty as the tide recedes.
</p>
<p>
 <img alt="Capture2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15697 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15697" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"Stephen Ferrin","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462479604","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Capture2" data-recalc-dims="1" height="750" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/Capture2.jpg" width="813"/>
</p>
<p>
 Here is the southern bridge during an outgoing tide:
</p>
<p>
 <img alt="IMG_2907" class="alignnone wp-image-15693 size-large gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15693" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1461664100","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0021321961620469","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_2907" data-recalc-dims="1" height="750" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/IMG_2907.jpg" width="1000"/>
</p>
<p>
 In the stream, I found mussels (
 <em>
  Mytilus californianus
 </em>
 ), oysters, orange sponges, tunicates, invasive orange-striped anemones (
 <em>
  Diadumene lineata
 </em>
 ), and numerous other tiny animals.  As I inspected a rock, I found that it had dozens of spider-looking creatures!  They were pycnogonids, or sea spiders.  I didn’t get a good picture, but they looked something like this:
</p>
<p>
 <img alt="DSCF0073b.jpg" class="gcloudimg" data-recalc-dims="1" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/DSCF0073b.jpg"/>
</p>
<p>
 As I tried to pull them off the rock, I noticed they were linking their legs to other individuals and I got curious about what they might have on the ends of their legs that would allow them to cling to each other (and to rocks) so well.  Under the Foldscope, the secret was revealed:
</p>
<p>
 <img alt="IMG_2925" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15698 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15698" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1461756789","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="IMG_2925" data-recalc-dims="1" height="750" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/IMG_2925.jpg" width="1000"/>
 <img alt="IMG_2927" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15699 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15699" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1461756821","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.016666666666667","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="IMG_2927" data-recalc-dims="1" height="750" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/IMG_2927.jpg" width="1000"/>
 <img alt="IMG_2923" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-15700 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1461756697","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.016666666666667","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="IMG_2923" data-recalc-dims="1" height="953" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15605/IMG_2923.jpg" width="1000"/>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>


Pick a Pycnogonid

<p>
 Hello again!
</p>
<p>
 I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with the
 <a href="http://limpets.org/" target="_blank">
  LiMPETS program
 </a>
 , which monitors sandy shore and rocky intertidal ecosystems.  As part of our Marine Ecology class at CSU-Monterey Bay, we participated in rocky intertidal
 <a href="http://limpets.org/site/carmel-point/" target="_blank">
  monitoring at Carmel Point
 </a>
 .  The idea is to monitor invertebrates and algae over long periods of time to see how the community changes.
</p>
<p>
 <a alt="IMG_2738.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15703/IMG_2738.jpg">
  <img alt="IMG_2738" class="alignnone wp-image-15708 size-medium gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15708" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1460456340","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0015360983102919","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_2738" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15703/IMG_2738.jpg" width="300"/>
 </a>
</p>
<p>
 Monitoring is done by counting organisms inside of a quadrat, which is placed at specific points on a long transect line:
</p>
<p>
 <img alt="File_000" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-16225 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16225" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1460454938","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0072463768115942","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="File_000" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15703/File_000.jpeg" width="300"/>
</p>
<p>
 We found many interesting species, but I was looking for something smaller.  I grabbed a small chunk of seaweed and found an amphipod, which I placed on a microscope slide for a closer look.
</p>
<p>
 As you can see in this video, despite his tiny size the field of view is so narrow with the Foldscope that we can’t see its entire body.  Its pereopods and pleopods are clearly visible.
</p>
<p>
 <a alt="File_000.mov" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_15703/File_000.mov">
  Amphipod video
 </a>
</p>


Amphipod (up close and personal)

<p>
 Hello again Foldscope friends!
</p>
<div>
 If you are a regular on this blog, you already know that our Marine Ecology class at CSU-Monterey bay is stoked about getting to field test Foldscopes.  On our most recent field trip, we went to
 <a alt="data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d36.637412!4d-121.936307" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/data%3D%213m1%211e3%214m5%213m4%211s0x0%3A0x0%218m2%213d36.637412%214d-121.936307">
  Point Pinos
 </a>
 in Pacific Grove, CA.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
 The point is dominated by a golf links and neighborhoods, surrounding the oldest operating lighthouse on the west coast.  The entire point falls within the boundaries of marine protected areas, and the intertidal is full of life!
</div>
<div>
 <a alt="4.1.jpeg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.1.jpeg" rel="attachment wp-att-16214">
  <img alt="4.1" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-16214 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16214" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462874612","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0015220700152207","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="4.1" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.1.jpeg" width="300"/>
 </a>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
 I found a giant green anemone (
 <i>
  Anthopleura xanthogrammica
 </i>
 ) eating the remains of a fish (size 11 boot for scale)
</div>
<div>
 <a alt="4.3.jpeg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.3.jpeg">
  <img alt="4.3" class="alignnone wp-image-16216 size-medium gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16216" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462874640","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0014705882352941","title":"","orientation":"3"}' data-image-title="4.3" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.3.jpeg" width="300"/>
 </a>
</div>
<div>
 … a baby octopus …
</div>
<div>
 <img alt="4.4" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-16217 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16217" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462875048","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0023419203747073","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="4.4" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.4.jpeg" width="300"/>
</div>
<div>
 … and a tiny sea star.
</div>
<div>
 <a alt="4.5.jpeg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.5.jpeg">
  <img alt="4.5" class="alignnone wp-image-16218 size-medium gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16218" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462875621","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0017953321364452","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="4.5" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.5.jpeg" width="300"/>
 </a>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
 We were there during a low tide, and at the waters edge seagrasses became dominant in some areas.  I’d never looked at seagrass under a microscope before, so I grabbed a small sample and took a look.  I tore a ~8mm section from small blade of grass and mounted it on a concave microscope slide.
</div>
<div>
 <a alt="4.9.jpeg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.9.jpeg">
  <img alt="4.9" class="alignnone wp-image-16223 size-medium gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16223" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462979948","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0053191489361702","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="4.9" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.9.jpeg" width="300"/>
 </a>
</div>
<div>
 I was amazed to see the tightly-packed cells in neat rows, and the fibers sticking out of the end that I likely would have missed had I cut the grass with a knife.  Neat!
</div>
<div>
 The small bunch of grass also had some decaying bits, and knowing that many organisms would likely be munching on that sort of material, I made another slide.  The piece was ~2mm wide.
</div>
<div>
 <img alt="4.6" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-16219 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16219" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462979340","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0032154340836013","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="4.6" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.6.jpeg" width="300"/>
</div>
<div>
 But what’s this?  A tiny snail!
</div>
<div>
 I was able to zoom in with my iPhone 6s for this lovely shot:
</div>
<div>
 <a alt="4.7.jpeg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.7.jpeg">
  <img alt="4.7" class="alignnone wp-image-16220 size-large gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="16220" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1462979521","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"25","shutter_speed":"0.0041666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="4.7" data-recalc-dims="1" height="750" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_16212/4.7.jpeg" width="1000"/>
 </a>
</div>
<div>
 I watched for a while, but it seemed to no longer be alive.  It appears to be roughly as long as two or three seagrass cells.  What caught my attention the most was the chambered appearance.  In the very center you can see the larval shell, which protects the snail before it starts to grow into a spiral.  I have no idea what kind of snail it is, but it sure is cool!
</div>
<div>
</div>


Stephen Ferrin

Earth

Posts

Projecting corn

Pick a Pycnogonid

Amphipod (up close and personal)

A Snail of a Tale

Locations

Statistics

Type of Sample

Foldscope Lens Magnification